New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-12-25
CORN CANNING IN MAINE.
ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF GREAT IN
DUSTRY.
THE PROSE AND POETRY OF LIFE AMONG THE


ing his glisening worries and revolving with hungry
Isto the joys Of handful Of sweet corn just pouro
from can which had como all the way rom tho eoou
old State OF Maine Yet II Is by no means ianoy
picture. In polar seas, on tho pyramid OF Onoop'
and in the shadow OF the grcasphnx, In cabin ana I'D
forecatle on tho deep in the cotton and rico helds Oh
the South In settlement and in city, mountain ana
in canon OF the far West the table OF the college,
president and in the hut Of tho African savage uAu
rios edible alike to the Vassar graduate ana the MoA-
can grcascrpamong all races and nationatleS every
where in fact found and enjoyed preserved ana oe
rcious sugar corn which comes from tho State Oh
Maine.
within comparatively a few years new factor has
appeared as bow OF promise TO the financially pressed
small farmcr-the canning OF sweet corn NOT ohiy
n promise, but a literal vcrncatOn unlocking tho
doors of plenty. Nowadays, besides his othcr crops
he manages plant from one acre to three acres Oh
sweet corn when the latter part OF August or the
first OF September has como he breaks or tho oars,
loads them into his cart, drives off to the packing FAC
tory dumps them into the huskng yard, takes his
receipt from the foreman, and in few days. as soon
rs his lot has been canned and It's yield tapua'ed
on tho clerks books he receives his three cents per
can and comes home with pockebook plcthorc with
grccnhacks. IL IS a suro market, for early In tho
spring he contracts with the owners or operators OF
tho factory plant a certain number OF acres, ana
nothing short Of untoward treatment by tho clements
OF nature can arrest tbs logical sequence.
Furthermore. not only in the itsef but I'm the
labor OF huskng the ear, cutting the corn from tho
cob pressing II into the can, boiling labelling boxing
making wooden boxes or ceases and hcghung
there Is large and direct rovonue for an army OF poo
pic Of both sexes and all ages army much reduced
Of late years, however, by tho introduction OF I'm
proved machinery.
ORIGIN or TIRE INDUSTRY
Tho evolution Of tho sweet industry Is an In
tercstlng phase Of tho life OF tho down East wage
Garner. About ls42 Isaac Winslow, then In France
conceived tho doa Of preserving green vegotaoe' oy
Dramatically sealing them in cans. lie communicated
his plans to his brother, Nathan, in Portland who
soon began a series Of experiments. From the short
ness Of the season in which thcy could b. conducted
II took a long tlmc before practical results were
rcacbcd He began canning In 1859 In the town
Of westbrook adjoining Portland. Since thcn the
corn canning industry has grown to tremendous pro
rortlons In 1852, at which time Mr. Wnsow han
procured a complete outnt, sufficient for the primitive
method Of that period, his annual packing was 3oooo
cans and until thc beginning Of the var was seno"
II ever more than 60 900 cans annually Now almost
one Of the many factories Of tho winslow Pack king
COMPANY. the leading canning firm In the state, puts
m three and in some instances five times that NUM-
her Then there are two other great packing con
Germs the Portland Packing company ana thurman"
{ Morrill, beside, host Of small factories the greater
part Of whose products II controlled by pehrr"'
Charles T. Mattocks the president OF Tho "'nS'o"
Companv ColIatcrally, fhcso three great nfns
while making sugar corn their main industry also ca"
more or less Of fruits vegetables meats FISH etc. su'h
NJ Tomatoes shell and string beans. green peas, sue
coash bIuchcrrlcs apples cranherrcs, pears pcacho'
lohs,e-s nclcrc salmon. clans and oysters po'i
mutton veal turkey. chicken, potcd sausage ana
soups 81 various kinds
Tho winslow Company have corn factories IN hr'us
ton Duckncd. Camden Canton Dccrlns' f"r"o'u'
ts.ffa N..rf a.
land RAYMOND wilton and baldwin. fourteen In all
besides s, olstor factories two Of which arc in Asine
,uo in Nova scotia and two at the Maglaeno ISLANDS
Tho Portland Packing Company have eleven corn FAC
,orcs-a Gorham. Scnhgo Lake. Naples frycp"'s'
Monmouth winthrop. vNssalboro. sks"h'San' No''"
Arson Unity Wells also twenty SIX lobster i'''"''
IN New brunswick and Nova Scotia burnham q
Morrill, have ten corn factories at scarboro' Zen
mark Harrison, Casco. Mino', Auburn south fN''
Dfyrcld Pennington and Norridgcwoch
Tic canning Of Holsters IS becoming no lnconildcr
able rival TO that u corn. For instance twenty o'
tho twcn,ys1 lobster factories 81 the Portland PH'N
Ing Company during the past year produced lo7o''"
cans employing . 900 hands, and making total saIr
~ about sa5oOOo II required about eight ana
half million HOLSTERS 10 I'll all these cans
FIGURES OF mo nrsiNfs'
~. ,,,t,e1 and ,urtv ncres covered with sheets of
tint Eight hundred aud eighty miles Il TIN cans IN one
continuous linei
IN, above. ~ thus actually displayed, would be
corroc, object lesson OF the immense proportions OF
ysues annual corn canning industry-or NOR" sr'oty
,neakfnr Of the pack Of 1880 which aggregated 4"s
A,3 cases OF two dozen cans 10 the case MAKING
Grand total Of ll.l40 $40 cans The total number OF
c,s.. MI, IN I'm tho United states that year was "14
-q5 Main. led the column, packing 1io,'oa moro
cases than MARYLAND tho next state In amount anu
COG 900 and 30i 452 moro cases. respectively 'h'n W
rrea, states " New York and Onto And these nsr'S
foo rcprcscnt the minimum amount OF Names sugar
oo,r uroduc IS there number ~ sn all factories
unrrpOrtcf -
r,, YEAR Names c. IN pack has been more uidant
,,r usual tho Increase as a whole, being twenty hVo
10, cent The amount Of acreage employed III corn
r,s,ne throughout the state is upwards ~ loooo ac'
or twenty Ave square miles, and tho product oil INV
va.t field IL used in about eighty two factories Oh
,h,ch ahout twenty ones were started ths yo"' Ia
vin,,rport Halloweu GrcdS. and at other pol' d"
the sugar corn belt OF tho state
Canned corn I, truly cosmopolitan. for II goes hor,n'
,, .n., and wcst-to the four quarters OF tho 8iouo
VIZ, ~ 4, available In all climates, IS illustrated oy 'ho
fat that Il open, we'll in Arctic regions. as cotuncu W
lieutenant Greedy, while. on tho othoi manu. n"' 10
,ddnced tho instance wnere It goes TO mi t
in Africa and has to Transporter ny Tho
southern and western ststos to tho RIO Grand ana 90
yond san II anoiseo por's"a "n H1oat south and
west almost everywhere arc seen tho ahlih o@'oa
bearing on thcir lllumncd label tho pleasing ioSsbu
which tolls that within may DO iouhu ""'"'' "
mo- ned swoot corn :, ,,. 49,, ...,.
For a. all Offset to her long cold winters her rocR,
md hllls and hor meteorological, topographloaI si
climate drawbacks, Mainc can boast Of growing Tho
hest apples and sweet corn In tho world Othrr Sa'os
may enter tho nod but only Ia be dstancod IN tho IA
soc Of Tho Westrrn produce quito good canned
corn hut no other state than Maine furnishes IL Az
nutritious, sweet and tender For her slhcions sou
and sparkling phero peculiarly adapted To tho
growth OF sugar Iiu, which Il n dwarf variety
chemical analysis OF pac Red In Maine Maryland
and oun sent
the following to tho food value OF The throe lots
Maine corn, 45G 10. Iowa corn 800 40, ana Mary
land corn 800 10. In othcf words. tho Maine stood
thirty por cent above tho Iowa and hty per cent
above the Maryand In food value or II Maryland corn
is worth eighty per dozen, and Iowa dollar. tho
Maine would DO worth ono dollar and twenty fvo cents
PROCESSES or PACKING.
Like most other binds Of manufacturing Industries
the process Of packing sweet corn has undergone a